The Sleepless Nights
by holidaysfromreality
Summary: Practically since their birth, Artie Abrams and Tina Cohen-Chang have been having sleepovers.


**I'll try to make it quick so you can get to the story. I know I haven't posted anything here in a long time, but I figured since this will be a multi-chapter story, I should post it here. Anyway, a few days ago I posted a story on my personal blog about a series of sleepovers Artie/Tina have had over the course of their lives. A link to the framework of this story can be found on my page.  
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**For the sake of this story, some things that are canon on the show for Artie and Tina no longer apply. I'll get more into that when it becomes relevant. Also the next few chapters (well, most of the chapters, actually) will be told from Artie and Tina's points of view as young children. I'll try my best to make them sound as authentic as possible at whatever age they are, but obviously at the younger ages they may seem a little advance. Basically, whichever character's point of view it is will obviously have the view that they or another young character is particularly smart for their age, or does something amazing that to an adult isn't quite as developed of a skill as Tina or Artie may think it is. For example, in this chapter, Artie is just shy of four years old, and Tina says he knows all the words to "The Rugrats Rap," when in reality he really more mumbles along. (Anyway, enjoy. This story is also un-beta'd so there may be mistakes. Sorry about that.)  
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Television was a special treat for Tina Cohen-Chang at age four. Her mother, Evelyn, preferred that she do more stimulating activities like playing outside or coloring. She quite liked coloring. She could almost stay completely inside the lines, at that point, a skill that she would tell everyone who would listen. But that was aside from the point. Tina being allowed to watch television was a weekly treat for her, which happened Artie Abrams came for a visit with his mother, Catherine, and the two toddlers watched a video that had been taped for them to keep them out of their mothers' hair.

Artie had been coming over for as long as Tina could remember. Her mother had told her that she and Artie's mother had known each other for a very long time and that they had babies around the same time as well. Artie was really Tina's only friend and she didn't mind that at all. Most other kids frustrated her because they didn't like allt the same things as her or at least let her be the boss, but Artie did almost everything she said with enough prodding. Plus he was nice and he shared his toys-even though mostly had boy toys like trucks, but she thoroughly enjoyed his collection of tinker toys whenever she visited his house-and he was the only person she knew that could sing along to the Rugrats Rap.

Tina could hear quick but light footsteps coming from down the hallway to the playroom she spent most of her time in, which meant that her friend had arrived. She quickly jumped up, waiting expectantly as her crayons rolled off her table and onto the floor. Artie came tearing through the door, holding a VHS tape in his hands, "It's Gullah, Tee!" He waved the tape excitedly in her face.

Gullah, Gullah Island was Artie's favorite program to watch and one of the only ones that both of them could agree on. Tina liked to watch Cinderella over and over again in her favorite princess dress while singing along to Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, basically the only song in her repertoire. But Artie insisted that it was a girl movie and that he would become a girl if they watched it.

He took the tape over to the television in the corner of the room and tried to put it in the VCR. "No, like this," she said, a little exasperated. Artie was probably her favorite person in the world, but he was still three years old to her four years, which made him still a baby in her eyes that had to be taken care of. He hardly knew how to do anything.

Tina took the tape from his hands and turned it around, pushing it into the player. There was some static on the screen for a few moments before a picture appeared on the screen.

_Come and let's play together,_ "In the bright sunny weather!" Artie immediately sang at the TV, "Let's all go to, Gullah-Gullah Island!"

Tina sat down on the floor a few feet from the television, her arms wrapped around her knees, while Artie spread out his stomach next to her. She was enraptured by the picture on the screen and for a long time they didn't say anything to eat other, both of them mumbling the words to the songs. Artie had already seen this particular episode that morning, so he knew the words just a little better.

"Artie?" Tina asked, looking over at him. He turned his head toward her quickly before looking back at the television, "Artie!"

"What?" He turned his full attention to her, which was difficult for him giving what was happening on the screen, and rolled onto his side. He knew that Tina could easily turn off their show if she wanted or sit on him, so he figured it was best to listen to her. He tried to keep his eyes focused on her and not on the screen. It was hard for him to do that.

"Are we best friends?" she asked, looking up from her knees to him.

"What's that?"

Tina thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain the concept to him. Earlier that day, her mother had gone to the supermarket, and her father let her watch television with him in his office, and a commercial for a best friend bracelet making set had come while she was watching the Rugrats. She knew what a friend was because it was a word frequently used in the books her parents read for her every night, and her father had described the word 'best' as something that was better than everything else, so she immediately figured that best friends was even better.

"It's better than friends," she told him. She thought for another moment, tapping her finger against her chin, "And I think it means you have to share your cookies with me at snack time."

"I do that already, Tee!" Artie insisted, ready to roll back over and continue watching their show.

"Then we're best friends!" With that, Tina attacked him with a hug, her tiny arms wrapping around his neck as he squirmed underneath her. Tina often mistook affection for full-on wrestling, but Artie instinctively knew that they weren't playing a game right then. So he returned the embrace, his tiny hands clasping each other around her back. Neither of them really understood the concept of a best friend yet, but Artie gave one of his cookies to Tina when they had their snack, because apparently, that was what best friends did for each other.


End file.
